八国峰会：萨科奇夫人请人“帮忙”

France's first lady Cecilia Sarkozy has hired a top-level diplomatic advisor to guide her steps on the world stage, where she intends to play an active role at her husband's side, a report said Tuesday.

Cecilia's diplomatic advisor, the career diplomat Nicolas de la Granville, 45, was hand-picked for her by President Nicolas Sarkozy's national security advisor Jean-David Levitte, according to Le Figaro newspaper.

The paper said Cecilia planned to play a "complementary" role to her husband, focusing on so-called "feminine" questions such as "children, women and humanitarian affairs, the French language and culture."

The 49-year-old Cecilia would be the first French first lady to have her own diplomatic advisor.

De la Granville, who has served in Brussels and Madrid, is a specialist on European affairs and North Africa. He will be part of the diplomatic cell at the Elysee presidential palace, where Le Figaro said one of three Africa advisor posts was scrapped to make way for him.

A presidential spokesman denied that the first lady would have designated staff, saying that some of Sarkozy's advisors may be asked to help Cecilia Sarkozy with her requests.

"Some advisors in the presidential team have been asked to address demands that could come from Cecilia Sarkozy," said presidential spokesman David Martinon.

Cecilia accompanied her husband to the Group of Eight summit in Germany on Wednesday, where she will follow a "wives' programme" -- hosted by the husband of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A former model and PR executive, Cecilia acted as Sarkozy's communications advisor when he was interior minister in Jacques Chirac's government.

But in 2005 the couple went through a brief separation and she withdrew from the political scene.

Cecilia was absent during much of Sarkozy's campaign, only appearing at his side for the victory celebrations and swearing-in ceremonies.

本周二消息，法国第一夫人塞西莉亚·萨科奇为了在八国首脑峰会上做好丈夫的“助手”，聘请了一位高级外交顾问来指导她在这个国际舞台上的表现。

据《费加罗报》消息，塞西莉亚的外交顾问--45岁的职业外交官尼古拉斯·德·拉·格兰维尔是总统尼古拉斯·萨科奇的国防顾问吉恩-大卫·里瓦伊亲自为她挑选的。

该报道称，塞西莉亚打算为丈夫当好“助手”，她将着重就“儿童、女性及人道主义问题、法语及文化”等所谓的“女性”问题发表观点。

49岁的塞西莉亚将成为法国历史上首位拥有私人外交顾问的第一夫人。

曾在布鲁塞尔和马德里任职的德·拉·格兰维尔是欧洲和北非问题的专家。他将成为总统府爱丽舍宫外交智囊团的一员，据《费加罗报》报道，总统府为了给格兰维尔安排职位，甚至免去了三位非洲外交顾问其中一位的职务。

一位总统府发言人否认第一夫人将拥有私人专员，并称萨科奇总统的一些顾问可以帮助第一夫人解决一些问题。

总统府发言人大卫·玛蒂农说：“总统府的一些顾问可以帮助塞西莉亚解决一些实际需求。”

本周三，塞西莉亚陪同丈夫萨科奇前往德国出席八国集团峰会，在峰会期间，她将和其他第一夫人一同参加由德国总理默克尔的丈夫率领的“夫人团”。

塞西莉亚曾做过模特和公关经理，在萨科奇担任希拉克政府的内政部长期间，她是萨科奇的沟通顾问。

但2005年，这对夫妇短暂分别，塞西莉亚退出政坛。

在萨科奇的多数竞选活动中，塞西莉亚都没有露面，直到萨科奇的竞选获胜和就职仪式，她才出现。

hand-pick : select personally and very carefully（亲手挑选；仔细挑选）